Originally Posted by
Flying for Fun
I am not sure why you are conflating things. AS isn't competing on that small subset of premium transcon passengers relative to the vast majority that fly in Y. They aren't their target audience. There is a reason that Y seats outnumber F seats at least 10 to 1 on most aircraft that fly between the coasts. It is not the Market they are targeting. Subfleets add additional costs to an otherwise homogeneous fleet. AA passengers in Y are paying a premium to fly non-stop on those same birds compared to one-stop+ service. 61% of AAs revenue in 2019 was derived from passengers who flew with the airline exactly once.
For the vast majority of Y passengers, AS has the best Frequent Flyer program, especially for the price conscious even if you wish to categorically say they are all underwhelming & awful. Not everyone shares your feelings. If they did, AS would have a subfleet for premium transcons to compete with.
James
And yet AA's A321T is 10F, 20J, 36W, and 36Y. Hardly an outnumbering of 10 to 1. I'm not sure what 'market' AS is targeting but it doesn't seem to be very successful. They're better off deploying those aircraft on routes they can make work like SEA-LAX and leave the transcon market for players that are actually interested in investing in the customer experience.